Improvement in nail-machines



UNITED STATES PAIEQEFICl-E.

JACOB B. KTNGHAM, or Eas'r BRIDGEWATER, iuassaonusnrs.

IMPROVEMENT IN NAIL-MACHINES.

Specification forming part OtLctters Patent No. 44,637, dated October1l, 1864.

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, JACOB B. KINGHAM, of East Bridgewater, in thecount-y of Plymouth and State of Massachusetts, have invented an Inproved Machine for Making Unt Nails, and

particularly of the kind termed Boat-Nails,

' process of heading it, my machine grips it on its four sides, and oneof the gripping dies also serves the purpose of a movable cutter tosever the nail-blank from the nailplate; and, besides this, in my saidmachine there is another movable cutter and one stationary cutteremployed for severing the nail-blank from the plate, and there is also astrut for steadying the movable l gripper and cutter or supporting itagainst the strain or pressure of the header.

In the drawings, A denotes the frame of the machine, which supports adriving shaft, l-, which carries at or near its middle two cams, U D.These cams are arranged directly over and are for operating or movingdownward two levers, E F. These levers carry. the two movable cutters GH, which are respectively affixed to the front ends of the levers, thefulcra of such levers being two shafts, a b. To each of the said leversthere is a spring, c, for elevating it at proper times. In advance ofthetwo cutters G H is the stationary cutter and gripper I, while in rear ofthis latter tlere is a movable gripper, K, which is affixed to a lever,L7 whose fulcra are represented at d d. The said lever L is operated inone direction by a cam, L', carried by the drivingshaft, the operationof such cam being such as to so move the lever as to force the gripper Ktoward the gripper I, the weight of the lever of the gripper K or aspring serving to move such lever and gripper in an opposite direction,as occasion may require. Below the grippers I and K is an auxiliarygripper, N, which extends upward from a rocker-shaft,

O, from which an arm, I), projects toward and against and in front of acam, Q, carried by the driving shaft. The cam is to cause the gripper Nto be moved forward from and underneath the nail immediately after suchnail may have been headed, such being in order to allow the nail to dropfrom the dies of the machine. Either the weight of the arm P or a springapplied to such arm or its shaft will suffice to produce a countermovement of the gripper N suflicient to bring it directly underneath thenail blank preparatory to the cutting of such blank from the nail-platewhen the latter' is on the die and critter I.

R is the header, which is carried by a lever,

S, worked by a crank-wheel, T, and a connectingrod, U, the whole beingarranged together and with respect to the grippers I and K as shown inthe drawings.

From one of the posts V V of the frame A a strut, W, projectshorizontally, or thereabout, and toward and so as to nearly, if notlquite, touch the side of the head of the lever which carries the cutterand the gripper G. This strut is stationary, and operates to prevent thesaid gripper G from being moved laterally by the pressure of the headerex erted against the end of the nail-blank while the head of such blankmay be in the act of being formed or made by the header.

In the operation of the machine, the two cutters G H descend together,and co-operate with the stationary cutter and gripper I in severing anail-blank from the nail-plate, after which, and preparatory to theadvance of the header, the smaller cutter H will ascend so as to leaveprojecting beyond the cutter G- a porn tion of the blank suicient forthe formation of the head of the nail, the cutter G remaining down uponthe blank and pressingitrmly upon the auxiliary gripper N. At the sametime the grippersK will be moved up to the blank, and with the lowerpart of the inner edge of the cutter I'will grip the blank on its twovertical sides or edges.

From the above it will be seen that preparatory to and while beingheaded the nailblank will be held rmly ou its four sides or edges, andafter the header may have performed its function of upsetting the end ofthe blank which it will do to much better advantage when the blank isgripped on four instead of but two of its sides) the gripper N will bemoved from underneath thevblank, and so as to permit it to drop out ofthe machine.

The nail made by this machine is far superior to that which is clampedonly on two opposite sides While being headed, and which is known in themarket under the name of boat nail,77 (the form of which is representedin Figs. 6 and 7,) which is more or less rounded or rendered cylindricalin the vicinity of its head, and for a distance therefrom equa-l toabout onethird of the length of the nail.

The nail made by my machine has a square or rectangular tranverse,section throughout its shank, and tapers gradually from the head to thepoint, and thus, after having been driven into wood, such nail will holdtherein to much better advantage than the roundedshank nail.

I claiml. The combination of t`1e stationary cuttcr and gripper I, themovable cutter and gripper G, the movable cutter H, the two movablegrippers K N, and the header R, arranged as set forth, and provided withmechanism for operating` them, substantially as specified.

2. The combination of the same and the steadying-strut W, the object ofthe latter being as hereinbefore explained.

JACOB B. KINGHAM. Witnesses:

R. H. EDDY, M. E. SHOBEY.

